This is a land of wide open spaces. We were once very self reliant, because we had to be. This is a huge country, with a solid percentage of people living in rural areas. Hard work was beaten like a drum because it was necessary for survival.

Our grandfathers were paragons of hardiness. They had a greater number of skillsets. My father-in-law can build houses, fix/maintain any machine, do electrical work, plumbing work, farm, etc. I can do very few of these. What I can do, I had to learn on my own.

There has been a change in my country. I can see what it bothers some individuals. Perhaps it is misguided; we are moving into a new era.

My only point is that the changes we Americans see aren't simply a call to patriotism. Men like myself, and perhaps the writer of this article, see the differences between our grandfathers and the peers of our sons. Whether our fear of this change is right or wrong, there has been a change in our culture, and it's something we discuss often.

There is a true concern we are weakening. Whether we need to be concerned is another story, but at any rate we are in a cultural transition.

Men like my father-in-law are concerned, and it's not simply patriotism. They view things through the lens of their lives, and still to a degree think all modern men should have the same myriad of skillsets.

Time has made the average American man less self-reliant. But it's still a huge country where many men must be more self-reliant than some of us can imagine. I live in a farming community where many of my peers were taught the same skills. They require these skills to feed their families and keep farms running.

One day they drywall, the next fix a barn. One day they grease the combine, the next fix an outlet in the barn.

Some of them do see a healthy portion of the young as self-serving wimps. I am not saying it's right or wrong, but I am saying that the more self-reliant you are, the more you fear facing obstacles you don't have the skills to overcome. Older men tend to have a natural, healthy fear for the younger generation. It's simply part of the transition taking place.

I am surrounded by rural communities, and men like this. There are far more self-reliant men roaming our lands than many can imagine.